Method of producing tableware from sheet-metal blanks.



No. 632.988. Patented Sept. l2, I899.

C. W. COOK,

METHOD OF PRODUCING TABLEWARE FROM SHEET METAL BLANKS.

(Application filed. June 26, 1899.!

(No Model.) 2 Sheets8heet I.

No. 632,988. Patented Sept. l2, I899.

C. W. COOK.

METHOD OF PRODUCING TABLEWARE FROM SHEET METAL BLANKS.

(Application filed June 26, 1899.1

2 Sheets-Shet 2 (No Model.)

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UNrrEE STATES PATENT CEErcE.

CHARLES \V. COOK, OF VVALLINGFQRD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE M.HALLENBE CK, OF SAME PLACE.

I METHOD OF PRODUCING TABLEWARE FROM SHEET-METAL BLANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 632,988, datedseptember 12, 1899.

Application filed June 26, 1899- fa'erial No. 721,834. (No model.)

To all whom if; may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES XV. COOK, of \Vallingford, in the countyofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inMethods of Producing Tableware from Sheet- Metal Blanks; and I do herebydeclare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawingsconstitute part of this specification, and in which Figures 1 to at showthe production of a fork in the ordinary way from the ordinary forkblankwhich in its outline does not conform to the true form of a fork. Figs.5 to 8, inclusive, show the production of a fork in accordance with myinvention from an initial blank which in its outline conforms to thetrue outline of a fork; Fig. 9, a view of the initial form of aspoon-blank containing my invention, and Fig. 10 a corresponding view ofa spoon-blank of the prior art.

Myinvention relates to an improved method of producing tableware, suchas spoons and forks, from sheet-metal blanks, the object being to securenot only an economy in the manufacture of such articles, but also toproduce articles of superior quality.

ith these ends in view my invention consists in the improved methodhereinafter described and claimed.

For the better illustration of my invention 1 have shown in Figs. 1 to4:, inclusive, the making of a fork, in accordance with the method nowgenerally practiced, from an ordinary blank A, which may be accepted asthe type of the fork-blanks now in use, the tine end of which hasstraight sides A A and square corners a a a a. These straight sides andcorners have no counterparts, of course, in the finished fork andrepresent metal which must be cut away in the form of scrap. Startingwith such a blank it is rolled out to its fully developed form B, (shownin Fig. 2,) which retains all of the characteristics of its initial formA. The continuous broken line Z) in this figure shows the line on whichthe final fork-blank C is cut out. The continuous ribbon 1), so tospeak, lying outside of this broken line, represents the scrap pro- (1need in cutting out the fork-blank C. This blank, which is shown by Fig.3, does not conform in its lines to the lines of the developed blank B,the tine end of the blank having tapering edges C C and rounded cornersc 0 instead of square corners. This fork-blank is again subjected tofurthercutting, which develops the tines D, in producing which theextreme end D of the tine end of the blank is cut off.

Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, show the production of a fork by my improvedmethod from one of my improved fork-blanks E, shown by Fig.5 to conformin general outline to the true outline of a fork and to have its tineend formed with tapering sides E E and rounded corners e c. This initialblank E is rolled out and developed to produce the form F, (shown byFig. 6,) which stillretains the characteristic form of the blank E, andtherefore conforms in general shape to the true form of a fork. Thecontinuous broken line fin this figure shows the line on which the finalfork-blank G (shown by Fig. 7) is cut out. So much of the blank F aslies outside of this broken line f represents the continuous ribbon f ofscrap metal produced at this time. It will be observed by comparing Fig.6 with Fig. 2 that the ribbon f is very considerably narrower than theribbon b, the difference in the width of the ribbons shown by these twofigures roughly expressing the saving secured by my invention. Thefork-blank G is subjected to a further operation to produce the tines H,as shown in Fig. 8. Figs. 3 and 4 and 7 and 8 of course correspond, mypresent invention being illustrated by a comparison ofFigs. 5 and 6 withFigs. 1 and 2, respectively.

The spoon-blank shown by Fig. 9 conforms in general outline to theoutline of a finished spoon and may be accepted as the type of myimproved spoon-blanks. It is to be compared with the spoon-blank I,shown by Fig. 10 as standing for the spoon-blanks of the prior art andconstituting a type of the spoon-blanks now in use.

Acomparison of Figs. 1 and 5 will show that my initial fork-blank Econtains much less metal than the initial fork-blank A of the prior art,and therefore requires appre ciably less power for rolling it out intoits developed form F than is required for rolling the blank A out intothe developed form 13. This reduction in the amount of power requiredfor rolling the blanks is one of the advantages derived by my invention.Then when the fork-blank G is cut out from the developed blank Fmarkedly less scrap metal is produced than when the fork-blank C is cutout from the developed blank B. This saving in the scrap is anotherfactor of economy resulting from my invention. It is true that theproduction of the initial blanks E may be attended with a little morewaste than the production of the initial blanks A; but that waste ismuch more than compensated for by the saving resulting from the factthat less power is required to roll my improved blank and less scrap isproduced in cutting the fork-blank from it after it is rolled out intoits developed form F. Moreover, in cutting my initial blanks E from thesheet metal they are cut out at a single stroke, so that their edges arecontinuously and uniformly hardened. This hardening of the edges of theblank I have represented by a shaded line 6 in Fig. 5. This hardenededge in the initial blank is of course transmitted to the developedblank F, which may be said to have a continuously-hardened edge or rim,which facilitates a cutting of the true fork-blank from it very close toits edge, and therefore with the production of the minimum of scrap. Onthe other hand, blanks of the prior art, like the blank A, are not cutat one operation, nor is the entire blank cut in the same way, a portionof the edge being produced by a die and another portion by a cutter,whereby the edge lacks homogeneity of texture, being harder in one placethan in another. This want of homogeneity in texture is of coursetransmitted to the finally-developed blank B, which is apt to exhibitcracks in its edge and which is less liable to produce a perfectforkblank 0 than the blank F produced under my invention.

Blanks containing my invention may of course be produced for all kindsof spoons and forks and other articles of tableware which arecorrespondingly produced.

Having fully described my'invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

An improved method for the production of tableware such as spoons andforks, from sheet-metal blanks, consisting in producinga blank shaped toconform to the outline of the article to be produced from it, by cuttingit out at a single stroke from a suitable piece of stock so that itsedge will be continuously and uniformly hardened, then rolling the blankso produced until developed into a blank slightly larger than thearticle to be produced, but still conforming in general outline to theshape of the initial blank and to the shape of the article to beproduced, then subjecting the said developed blank to the action ofdies, whereby the final blank is produced, and then shaping andfinishing the final blank.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES w. COOK WVitnesses:

DANIEL W. BURKE, WILLIAM l\[ODONALD.

